The Quest

"Kelina," Bishop said groggily from the bed. "You won't be any good in a fight if you don't get some sleep." Then he rolled over and I heard his snores resonate through the room. I stepped away from the window and its entrancing red glow and lay down on the bed, willing myself to sleep. He was right – if we should find ourselves in a fight I would need to be rested. Although I didn't even want to think about fighting anyone here, it was a likely possibility. After all, it was in our nature to fight: his and mine. I felt sleep claiming me at last and I surrendered myself to the soporific blankness.

When I woke up I found an arm flung lazily over my stomach. The whiteness of it was in stark contrast to the black of my skin. It was comforting, in a way I hadn't expected. Always before my lovers had come and gone, never spending the night. Then my destiny had been on me and I hadn't had time to take a lover. Why was it I found myself finally spending the night with a man only after I had died?

Bishop stirred, his arm tensing around me, pulling me closer to him. I turned on my side to find him watching me, his eyes piercing into mine, searching for something. His mouth pulled up a little in a half smirk and he pulled me even closer, his hand now caressing my back.

His other hand reached up to touch my face, tracing the birthmarks around my eyes. They marked me as part demon, as did the horns growing out of my head and the pointed incisors in my mouth. I found my own hands tracing his scars, which were plenty. Then exploration became groping, and groping led to, well, you can guess.

There was something about the act of sex that seemed so very normal. The rhythms and the cadence of it were familiar. The smells and the feelings and the sound all brought back a normalcy that we lacked now that we were on Carceri. Maybe that's why it was so important for both of us to connect in that way. Because it seemed like there was more to it than mere lust or animal urgings. We needed to be together, to have that connection so we could feel normal.

Unfortunately, the effect only lasted as long as the act, and once that was done, the steady unrelenting pressure started up again. Carceri was exerting its presence on us, and I knew that if we didn't find a way out soon, we would become like the other hopeless people walking the streets: worn down and dejected, too paranoid to trust anyone and no way to leave.

I got up, and began to dress.

"What are you doing?" Bishop asked, scratching his head and rubbing his hands over his face as he swung his legs to the floor.

"Getting dressed, what does it look like?" I snapped back.

"That's not what I meant and you know it," he said, standing now and stretching his arms above him. I stopped to watch, half dressed as I was. His body was well muscled but lithe, not overly built up. He had scars all over from years of fighting and hunting.

"What I meant was where are you planning on going?" He walked over to the pile of clothes we'd left before we'd slept and began dressing himself.

"I figure there's got to be someone around here who knows things. Maybe knows a way out of here or knows someone who knows a way out of here. I'm not saying we'll get that information for free, but we can get it nonetheless." I pulled my tunic on over my head and began buttoning up my leather armor.

"Do you really think we'll be able to leave?" he asked, pulling his own leathers on and lacing up his boots.

"Don't know. Figure it's worth looking into, though. Unless, that is, you'd like to stay?" I looked at him then. He was tucking a dagger into the top of his boot, his brow furrowed in concentration. He stood, looking every bit as lethal as I remembered. The hesitation and uncertainty seemed to be gone from his eyes. He was more his old self than he had been when I found him downstairs just the day before.

"No, I don't want to stay. But if this is our afterlife, will we have a choice?" he asked, appraising me as much as I was appraising him. I turned in a slow circle, holding my arms out so he could get a good look.

"Do I meet with your approval?" I sneered, but there was a twinkle in my eyes. I felt better than I had since arriving here. The banter between us was helping. I almost felt like we were getting ready to go on some quest for the shadow reavers or something. Almost.

He grabbed me and planted a harsh kiss on my lips. "Yes," he said, and then he turned and walked through the door. I stood, astonished at his simple reply. Then I followed him down to the bar.

As I walked into the room, I heard him talking to the barkeep.

"There has to be someone," he hissed, his voice deadly.

"Look berk," the barkeep was saying, "the only one around who could give you the dark on portals outta here is Miss Cantrell, and good luck getting anything outta her. Her place is the garden place, you'll find it easy enough." Then he turned his back to us and began absent mindedly polishing the bar.

Bishop turned to me and closed the gap between us. "You heard?" he asked. I nodded. "Think it'll be as easy as he says?" he asked again. I shook my head. We walked out of the bar into what passed for day here. It was the first time I'd been outside since I'd arrived at the inn, and again I was forced to remember where we were.

The townspeople who passed us glared at us or ignored us. There were a few who were distinctly eyeing us as marks, easy or not. I steered us clear of them. We began walking up the street away from the gate that lead out into the stark plains of Carceri. There weren't many people out. I did get that prickly feeling on the back of my neck though. I glanced quickly at a house we were passing to find someone looking back out at us. As soon as I turned to look, they stepped away from the window and disappeared.

"This place gives me the creeps," Bishop said quietly. His hand was on his bow and an arrow was nocked. He was looking around warily, on guard for anyone who might be threatening us. I wasn't unprepared myself. My hand was on my spell component bag, and a spell was on the tip of my tongue. My other hand gripped the handle of my rapier, fingering the grip with the caress of a lover.

The garden place. As if a garden could grow around here. The houses were cluttered close together and all the same pale shade of gray. No dogs barked, no children played, no cats peered from behind windows to watch us pass. The place was eerily silent and still. No breeze came to stir the heavy air. Heat seemed to radiate out of the ground along with the crimson light that filled the air. I could feel sweat trickling down the back of my neck.

A man walked by, trying to hurry past us, hoping we wouldn't stop him. I did. A stretched out a hand and held his shoulder, the contact knocking him off balance. He went tumbling to the ground. Still he wouldn't meet my eye. He was muttering something under his breath. I strained to hear what he was saying.

"Right peery berk knocking me down. She'll get hers, yes, she'll become like the rest of us. Deva won't see her." He was scrabbling back to his feet. I grabbed both his arms and made him look at me.

"Look. I need you to tell me where Miss Cantrell's place is, or I'll end your existence on this plane. Do you understand?" His eyes went wide with shock and his mouth moved like he was trying to speak but no sound would come out. Finally he squeaked out, "Garden place, can't miss it." Then he was rushing past me. I looked at Bishop and shrugged my shoulders.

"Not too friendly, are they?" he said, his hand threading the feathers on the end of the arrow he held. "I guess it's up to us. This town isn't that large. We'll check every house until we find it." He looked around, peering at the houses, the ground and the sky with that scrutinizing look of his. At that moment, a large creature flew overhead. Instinctively we ducked into the shadows of a nearby building, waiting until it was out of sight.

"What was that?" he asked me.

"I have no idea. I only know where we are, not what lives here." I whispered. The creature had shaken me. It was huge, and the fact that it cast no shadow had me confused at first. Then I remembered that the light came from the ground, not the sky. The lack of shadows explained why everything here looked so flat and unreal. I took a deep shaky breath and walked out into the street. Bishop followed, his back to mine, both of us even more wary then we were before.